NEW YORK — Work will resume on the project to bring Metro-North commuter rail service to New York’s Penn Station, a project which had been paused over funding uncertainty and because of the COVID-19 pandemic. New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said Thursday that the resumption of the process will see selection of a firm to build four new Metro-North stations in the Bronx and make track upgrades, and that the federal government has given the Metropolitan Transportation Authority approval to publish the project’s draft Environmental Assessment for public comment.
“Connecting Metro-North to Penn Station has long been an important next step not just for New York City’s economic growth and development, but for protecting our environment and providing more equitable access to transit in our communities,” Cuomo said in a press release. “This restarted selection process … will expand access to transit in the Bronx and help to create a new corridor between Manhattan and the Mid-Hudson region.”
The project will see construction of new stations at Hunts Point, Parkchester, Morris Park, and Co-Op City on an extension of the New Haven Line, using the right-of-way currently used by Amtrak Northeast Corridor trains. It will bring that route local service for the first time, and cut the commute time from Co-Op City to Penn Station from the current 75 minutes to 24 minutes. It comes after the opening of the Moynihan Train Hall adjacent to Penn Station in December 2020, and as New York considers option to rebuild Penn Station [see “New York governor, MTA unveil proposal …,” Trains News Wire, April 22, 2021].
Three construction groups were identified as being qualified to bid on the project in February 2020, but the process was subsequently put on hold because of the effects of the pandemic.
“The most cost-effective capital projects are those that squeeze more mass transit service out of existing infrastructure, rather than always building something new from scratch,” said Janno Lieber, President of MTA Construction & Development. “By rebuilding this under-utilized Amtrak rail line to accommodate new Metro-North service, this project will give East Bronx residents better access to jobs, education and a full range of opportunities.”
More on the project is available at the MTA’s Penn Station Access website.
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